Chapter 216: Clues

According to the legends, King Arthur’s Sword in the Stone was broken in a fight.

If so… where did the sword blade go to?

That was a sacred sword, an important symbol of royal authority… … it was likely that no one would casually discard an item of such importance!

Well, the Sword in the Stone had two functions: The first was for actual combat. The second was for the symbol of royal authority.

According to the legends, the sword was broken. Naturally, its function as an item for combat would be lost.

However, its function as a symbol of royal authority could still be retained!

So, once again, the same question remained…

Where was the sword blade?

…

Chen Xiaolian exhaled and cast a glance at Bei Tai. He said, “You have just come up with a very good question.”

“Eh?” Bei Tai scratched his head and grinned. “Is that so?”

“I have this hunch,” said Chen Xiaolian with a wry smile. “Considering the system’s outrageous character, since it had issued us this quest to find the sword hilt… … then, this quest is probably incomplete. I fear that for the next quest, the system might ask us to go find the sword blade!

“If it didn’t, then our action of simply looking for the sword hilt would not make sense. The storyline should have a certain consistency or connection.”

Lun Tai glanced at his younger brother and said, “I think Xiaolian’s words make sense.”

“So… … we’ll be going to find the sword blade?” Bei Tai froze. “We’re going to find it now?”

“Right!” Chen Xiaolian slapped down heavily onto the car’s steering wheel!

Next, his face revealed an expression of excitement as he said, “I believe… … if we are to wait for the system to issue out a quest, it may lead us to another Hellish situation like that of the Tower of London. It will make up another huge monster for us to fight against. Who knows, it might even create another imbalanced BOSS like that Lancelot… … that kind of quest is just too difficult.

“We might as well take action right now.

“Before the system issues out the next quest, take advantage of the fact that the storyline had yet to activate!

“Since the storyline has not been activated and the quest has not been issued, then… maybe, even the monster or BOSS will not appear!

“Naturally, that is only a speculation of mine.”

Although it was only a speculation, both Lun Tai and Bei Tai felt that what Chen Xiaolian said was very reasonable.

Besides, there was no harm in trying.

If they could find the sword blade before the system opened up the next phase of the quest, they might be able to reduce the amount of effort needed to accomplish the quest.

“Well then, what are we waiting for? Let’s go find the sword blade now!” Bei Tai rubbed his hands in excitement.

The smile on Chen Xiaolian’s face faded.

“The question is… … where is the sword blade?”

…

The blade of the Sword in the Stone.

If someone were to ask how to find the Sword in the Stone in this present time… … the question would cause others to laugh their socks out.

Because… the Sword in the Stone simply do not exist!

It was a product of fictional literature!

Every legends regarding King Arthur, of him pulling out the Sword in the Stone, of the Knights of the Round Table, of Lancelot banging his wife…

Those were all part of fictional literature.

Those were not true history!

The question of how to find the sword blade was the equivalent of trying to find Frostmourne in the real world.

That was simply a nonsensical stuff.

…

However… Chen Xiaolian regarded the Sword in the Stone’s hilt that he was holding in his hand.

This stuff was right before his very eyes, in his very hand.

“Since the Sword in the Stone’s hilt is really here… … then Sword in the Stone in itself actually exists in this world…

“Although I do not know what is going on.

“However… … the system is omnipotent and possess the ability to produce such a situation.”

Chen Xiaolian thought about it and said, “What we need to consider is… … the legends about King Arthur. Find clues from them.”

After considering for a moment longer, he brought out his mobile phone and logged into the internet to find some information.

He had read up on the legends of King Arthur and had even read up several versions at that. However, he was not a computer. He could not clearly recall many details. Especially when it came to the finer details, it was better to re-check those details.

“Hmm… the legend of King Arthur. The earliest complete version emerged in the 12th century. In other words, it appeared between 1100 and 1200 A.D.” Chen Xiaolian slowly continued, “The complete legend of King Arthur was formed in this period, that includes the Sword in the Stone, the Knights of the Round Table, and the love triangle between Lancelot and the Queen… all those legends were formed during this period.”

Bei Tai and Lun Tai cast blank looks at Chen Xiaolian.

“Err… Xiaolian, you know how me and Bei Tai don’t read that much. Try your best to simplify it for us.”

Chen Xiaolian suddenly smiled out. He produced a piece of white paper and a pen. Then, he drew out the outline of a map that looked like a long shaped island.

“You see, this is the British Isles. My drawing is rather shabby.”

Chen Xiaolian slowly said, "British history is actually very wonderful. In the year 800 A.D., they were not a complete nation… in this regard, they are different from our country, China. Back then, we have long since been united.

“At that time, Britain was under Roman rule. After the fall of the Roman Empire, the Romans left Britain. After that, Britain… … how should I put it, I became a pot of porridge, a muddy pond.

“There were native races and foreign races there. In short, there was chaos.

“Then, somewhere around the 7th century, seven relatively big lords emerged – what? It sounds similar to the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros?

“Err… you fellows must not have read A Song of Fire and Ice! Truth be told, old Martin wrote his novel based on this background.

“Umm, we got side-tracked. Anyways, among the seven lords, there was one who was more awesome compared to the others. He conquered the other native lords and was then recognized by the other local lords as the King of the English.

“He established the first dynasty in the history of Britain.

“I won’t say his name. You won’t be able to remember it anyways.

“However, this dynasty did not rule over every lands of Britain… in other words, it did not unite the lands of Britain.

“Why? Because Britain is an island nation. Many forces would continuously invade from the continent of Europe. The one who invaded them the most is southern Scandinavia. Hmm, in that period, the ones who invaded Britain the most were the Danes.

“A part of Britain territory had always been under the rule of the Danes.

“Next, the native Britain dynasty fell into a bitter struggle.

“In that era, Britain was very poor, weak and backward. They were badly mistreated by the Danes.

“The worst part of it all was the fact that they were unable to defeat the Danes.

“In the end… … there were beaten by the Danes. In other words, the first British dynasty, not only did it fail to unify all of Britain, it was also conquered by the Danes.

“The Danes unified Britain.

“However… … a miracle occurred.

“The name of this miracle was Edward. This fellow was the last generation Prince of the conquered British dynasty.

“In history, he was the first British King to unite all of Britain.

“He was able to unite all of Britain, not because he was capable in warfare, nor was it because of a revolution… … rather, it was through marriage.

“The last King of the Danes that had united the lands of Britain had died.

“This Edward ascended to the throne… because, despite being a British, his mother was married to the Danish King! For the sake of uniting the lands of Britain and ensure that the people of Britain do not rebel against him, he had married Edward’s mother – the original British Queen.

“In other words… … this Edward was not only a British Prince, he was also the legal stepson of the Danish King!

“As a result, he inherited the throne! He united all the lands of Britain in one fell swoop.

Lun Tai and Bei Tai were shocked. “That is some crazy good luck!”

Chen Xiaolian shrugged his shoulders and continued, “Naturally, the whole process was very complicated and I won’t go into the details of it. Additionally… the history of Europe is not something that we can measure using our Eastern way of thought.

“What happened next?” Bei Tai appeared somewhat hooked to the story.

“Next… … this Edward did something stupid."

Chen Xiaolian slowly said, “Just now, we entered the Tower of London, right?”

"Yes."

“Hmm, let me start the story from there.” Chen Xiaolian slowly said, “This Edward was lucky enough to become the King. Unfortunately, he had no sons or heirs!

“Therefore, when he died, no one can inherit the throne.

“So, he did something stupid. In the process of choosing his successor… he made the commitment to pass the throne down to two different people.

“However, there is only one throne.

“Thus, after Edward died, a war broke out.”

As he spoke, Chen Xiaolian turned around to look out of the window in the direction of the Tower of London. He took a deep breath.

“The first King to sweep across the world through brute force appeared! That was… … the one who built this Tower of London!

“The one from France… … William.”

Chen Xiaolian’s expression revealed that he was lost in thought. Then, Lun Tai and Bei Tai gave a loud cough and he recollected himself. He turned his head back and smiled wryly. “Sorry, I got lost in thought there.”

He took a deep breath and said, “Before Edward died, he promised to pass the throne down to two people.

“One was his wife’s younger brother, his brother-in-law.

“And the other was Edward’s cousin, Duke William of Normandy from France.

“This William is not actually a Frenchman, You see, he stated that he is Edward’s cousin. That meant that he has the blood of British royalty in him… of course, this matter of bloodline is not that simple because the history of the Normandy clan is a whole different story. I won’t delve into the nonsensical details here.

“Let’s put it this way. After Edward died, his brother-in-law who was close by – he resided in the same local area – quickly ascended to the throne.

“Then… … William became enraged! He furiously roared out: Screw your mother! Edward promised to give me the throne!

“Thus, he led his troops to seize the throne.

“And he succeeded at that.

“This fellow was truly something!

“His possessed high military talent. After launching the war, he brought the Normandy troops from French through the sea and killed Edward’s brother-in-law in a battlefield!

“Next, he united the rest of England through conquest.

“If there is a character within the history of Britain who is similar to Qin Shihuang… then this William is the closest one.

“His name is William. He is given a nickname in the historical records…

“William the Conqueror.”

After saying that, Chen Xiaolian deliberated for a moment before continuing. “If we are looking for the first King in the history of Britain who used military force to conquer the world and unify the lands… … this William the Conqueror is the first one.”

Pausing, he continued, “The Tower of London was built by William. In the beginning, it was built to serve the war function of a military castle. He finally conquered the world, and his dynasty came to be known throughout history as the Normandy Dynasty. It is also known as the Norman Dynasty.

“Historically speaking, this could be said to be the beginning for the rise of England to become a true powerhouse.”

When he mentioned the Tower of London, the eyes of both Lun Tai and Bei Tai shone.

Tower of London!

They had found the Sword in the Stone’s hilt in the Tower of London!

“Think about it… William’s conquest of England and him becoming the King of England happened in the 10th century A.D.

“After he united all of England and transformed it into a powerful nation…

“The legend of King Arthur… … began to spread.”

Chen Xiaolian smiled as he said, “In the legends, King Arthur is a virtuous and capable ruler with great warfare abilities. He was also in command of countless brave warriors. Most importantly… … he possessed the Sword in the Stone that was granted to him by God! That became the symbol of legitimacy for his rule!

“Although the story of King Arthur is fictional literature, it is in essence no different from the online novels that we see online.

“However, if we are to consider who it is based on…

“Temperament wise, I personally think that William the Conqueror is the most likely one.

“Or should I say… … supposing there truly is a Sword in the Stone…

“And this Sword in the Stone represents the God-given royal authority…

“If so, who do you fellows think would have this sword?”

Lun Tai and Bei Tai replied in unison.

"It's him!!"

The first King to conquer the world through military might!

The sword that symbolized God-given royal authority!

If he was not worthy of the sword, who else could be worthy?!

“I feel there might be two possibilities.

“First, there is truly a King Arthur in history and there is also a Sword in the Stone. However… when William was conquering the world, he acquired the Sword in the Stone… … thus, he became invincible. He swept his way through the lands because he acquired the Sword in the Stone!

“Second, the story of King Arthur was based on William. Thus, the Sword in the Stone… it might be the sword that he used.

“No matter which one it is, I feel that the Sword in the Stone most likely belonged to William!”

Lun Tai and Bei Tai’s eyes shone.

Bei Tai suddenly spoke up, “But… … if he has the Sword in the Stone, then how did that William’s dynasty end?”

"Destroyed, replaced by another dynasty."

“Why though?” Bei Tai stared.

Chen Xiaolian laughed and replied, “Probably because… the Sword in the Stone was broken into two pieces. Thus, the divine powers of its royal authority became incomplete and it could only provide blessing for a limited amount of time. After the time lapsed, the protection afforded by the divine powers would be lost, ha ha ha ha… … I’m just joking. Maybe that is the storyline set by the system.”

“At present, the key point here is… assuming that the clues lie upon William the Conqueror, how would we go about finding the sword blade from him?” Lun Tai was stunned for a bit. Then, he said, “But… … it’s been how long since this fellow died? A thousand years?”

Bei Tai exclaimed, “Oh shit! We are not going to get called into another tomb, are we? I don’t want to go through another Mausoleum of Qin Shihuang!”

“Fool!” Lun Tai abruptly retorted. “It is a symbol of authority. Of course it will not be taken into the grave… it must have been passed on to future generations.”

He turned to look at Chen Xiaolian and asked, “Right? Surely, it must have been passed on to future generations, right?”

“Hmm… … I think that deduction is very reasonable.”

Chen Xiaolian picked up his mobile phone and checked. “William the Conqueror’s family is known as the family of Duke of Normandy. Normandy is their surname. However, in the span of these thousand years, it had been simplified to become ‘Norman’. Although his later generations were no longer Kings, they have been able to preserve their titles as aristocrats. In the UK, they should be one of the more ancient aristocrats… …”

After saying that, Chen Xiaolian’s face twisted violently! His voice and the smile on his face disappeared; and the expression on his face froze up.

Norman… Norman… aristocracy…!

He suddenly remembered a strange yet familiar name!

It can’t be…

It can’t be…

It can’t be that coincidental, can it?!

It really is that… coincidental?

…

…

[Author’s notes: I believe that some readers have already guessed it…

[If you haven’t figured it out, then go to Chapter 95 and read the last part right now…

[This setup, the setup from this name is something I have arranged over a hundred chapters ago ah! I finally got to this setup!

[Trust me, this is not a filler. When I wrote Chapter 95, I had already thought of this plot. This is not something I came up on the fly to fill the novel with words!

[Keke.

[PS: The history of Britain that Chen Xiaolian described had been simplified as much as possible. For example, Alfred the Great and the others…

[For you historians reading this, please don’t laugh at me. I am not trying to be an ignorant author. However, if I write in more detail, the readers will think I am trying to popularize the history of Britain.

[For this novel’s purpose, some parts of British history were omitted out wherever possible.]